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Graham leads comeback, tops ratings at West Virginia

Kansas guard Devonte' Graham (4) and the Jayhawks celebrate their 71-66 win over West Virginia as time expires, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia.
by Nick Krug

1 - Devonte' Graham: Started his climb back from rough start with a 3-pointer for the first half's final points, trimming a 16-point deficit to 13. Scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and drove aggressively late in the game for big buckets. Had six assists, three turnovers and two steals.

2 - Udoka Azubuike: Limited to 20 minutes because of foul trouble, Azubuike produced 10 points and nine rebounds. Kansas outscored West Virginia by 20 points when he was in the game and was 15 points in arrears when he sat. He's steadily improving and KU isn't the same team when he's not on the floor.

3 - Svi Mykhailiuk: Played a terrific second half, scoring 12 of his team-high 17 points and picking up all five of his assists. Played huge role in the comeback from a 12-point deficit with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining. Had five turnovers, three in the first half.

4 - Lagerald Vick: KU coach Bill Self didn't like his practice performance so he didn't start him. Self said he liked how Vick responded to that as opposed to how he would have in past years. Still in something of a funk and isn't the reliable scorer he was early in the season. Made just 1 of 6 3-pointers and totaled nine points, three rebounds, two assists, two turnovers and two steals. Averaging 7.4 points in past five games, 14.6 for the season.

5 - Mitch Lightfoot: Hung tough to produce six points, five rebounds and a steal in 11 minutes.

6 - Silvio De Sousa: Played well in seven first-half minutes. Made a nice lefty bank shot over shot-blocker Sagaba Konate had three rebounds, two off the offensive glass.

7 - Malik Newman: Second consecutive quiet game in the wake of his 27-point explosion vs. Iowa State. Made just 2 of 9 shots and 1 of 4 3-pointers and had three turnovers and some defensive lapses. Continues to rebound well and had six during this nine-point effort.

8 - Marcus Garrett: Missed a 3-pointer and is shooting .192, which begs the question: Why does he keep shooting them. Started, played 22 minutes and didn't turn it over, but made just 1 of 4 shots, didn't have a rebound and had two points and one assist.

Comments

Malik and Svi both neutralized 2 on 1 fast break advantages by going 1 on 1. Svi was trying to amend for the earlier embarrassment, and got facialed even more. Malik just continued the rut. Has he ever shared the ball? Love so much about the east of his game, but it is just rather mind boggling that he can not learn to share the ball on break.

I feel the same way. It is impossible to extrapolate much from 7 minutes, but he looked more comfortable on the road than he did for us in his first game at home. If he can even play 10 minutes a game it will greatly improve this team.

He got posterized by Konate in the first couple of defensive sets, but came back strong and kept Konate from getting clean looks and blocked him from getting rebounds. I'm surprised he wasn't used more.

Mitch is providing some essential minutes. He is KU's best shot blocker and does not back down against bigger players. Every teams game plan should be to get Udoka into foul trouble, because it is clear how much he gives to the team. With that said Mitch has been the MVP off of the bench.

WVU is a different type team this year. In the past they were stifle you hit the offensive boards and right back it. Now with West and Konate, etc it's pose and flex and then back at you. Too late sometimes then and you can come back on them. Press was weaker than usual with only one effective double team in the half court and then Newman passes to Svi who then zips one to Lagerald for a lay in.

Part of this is the perception that KU is down a full notch this year. I'll tell you this team showed poise and pride even when down by 16 in the first half. Outscored WVU by 18 in the second half. Wow, one for the ages. This is a confidence boosting win, both D and O wise, and we should feed off of it.

Newman is gonna get it. He's had a lot of PT and we need his ball handling. He brings more than Marcus overall.

Silvio is so calm and is the athletic bridge between Udoka and Mitch. Glad Bill is playing him so much.